Icy windshield blamed after man strikes, kills friend

Leominster, Mass. (USA) --Impaired by his ice-covered windshield, a Leominster man heading to work struck and killed a co-worker whom he usually drove to the plastic plant, authorities said yesterday.

``It was icy and fogged up, and he could not see out of it very well,'' Lt. Mark Swaine said of 39-year-old Samuel Kwasi Opoku.

Authorities say Opoku slammed his Toyota Camry into 59-year-old Francis ``Butch'' Muhnisky shortly before 11 p.m. Monday as he walked across Industrial Road on his way to Plastican Inc.

The horrified Opoku told the cops his vision was obscured by the ice and fog on his uncleared windshield and he never saw his bundled-up buddy.

Both men live in the same apartment complex and work as machine operators on the third shift at Plastican, located a short distance from their homes.

Opoku often gave Muhnisky a lift to work.

``They were friends outside of work. Samuel is very upset from this and having a really hard time dealing with this. Everyone is grieving,'' company spokeswoman Deanna Zarrella said.

Muhnisky was easygoing and well-rounded, Zarrella said.

``It's pretty tragic for all of us here,'' she said.

A native of Ghana, Opoku has taken leave of absence from work. State police and prosecutors will determine whether to bring charges against him. Opoku was not charged yesterday. He could not be reached for comment.

Muhnisky had worked at the plant for six months after being laid off from ESP Lock Corp., where he had worked as a machinist for 20 years, said his only child, 27-year-old Anthony Muhnisky.

``It was hard work there, but he was glad he had a job and was looking forward to saving his money for retirement,'' Muhnisky said.

The divorced Vietnam veteran was friends with his ex-wife and was helping her out the other day, his son said.

``He was a caring guy. He was a good father,'' Muhnisky said.

Muhnisky said his father enjoyed watching him play football in high school, college and more recently, as a linebacker for the Leominster Razorbacks, a semi-professional team in the New England Football League.

The father and son often had breakfast together.

``It's just a very unfortunate accident. I'm going to miss him a lot. He was too young,'' Muhnisky said.